In this pilot study, students in Anatomy and Physiology courses at a Southwest US Community College were assigned to groups with the instruction that they must meet outside of class time to work on course assignments throughout the semester. The assignments included exam preparation questions and case studies, but the groups could use their out of…

What makes some faculty members more likely to use interactive engagement methods than others? We use the theory of reasoned action to predict faculty members' use of interactive engagement methods. Results indicate that faculty members' beliefs about the personal positive consequences of using these methods (e.g., "Using interactive…

Over the past eight years we have undertaken iterative cycles of course reform in two introductory biology courses: Biology 111 and Biology 211. Our revisions of these formerly "traditional" lecture courses have included in-class case studies with and without peer facilitators and peer-facilitated small-group workshops. Based on analyses…

Peer-facilitated workshops enhanced interactivity in our introductory biology course, which led to increased student engagement and learning. A majority of students preferred attending two lectures and a workshop each week over attending three weekly lectures. In the workshops, students worked in small cooperative groups as they solved challenging…

The war on cancer has been waged for nearly 40 years, yet the cancer burden remains high, especially among minority and underserved populations. One strategy to make strides in the war on cancer and its disparate impacts is to increase the diversity of the cancer research workforce. We describe an approach to recruit a diverse population of future…